Marysville School Board narrows list of chief candidates

The Marysville School Board decided on three final candidates for its new superintendent late Tuesday night and could make a selection in the next two weeks.

The finalists are:

Jim Coolican, 64, superintendent of the 9,400-student Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor. He was in the U.S. Marine Corps for 31 years before going into education and has been deputy superintendent of the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Fred Maiocco, 40, assistant superintendent for the 32,000-student Aurora School District near Denver, Colo. A West Point graduate, he served as an Army officer for eight years before changing to education. He has been an assistant superintendent in the Richland School District and was transportation director for the Issaquah School District, commuting from his former home in Monroe.

Larry Nyland, academic officer for school improvement in the 18,000-student Highline School District. He is a former superintendent in Pasco and an interim superintendent in the Shoreline School District.

The district began with 22 applicants and pared the list to six last week. Two of the six had Snohomish County roots: Betty Robertson, an assistant superintendent in the Snohomish School District who had previously worked in Marysville for 21 years, and Ken Limon, an assistant superintendent in the Edmonds School District.

Whoever is chosen will inherit a district facing tough financial times. Since September, Marysville has experienced a state-record 49-day teachers strike, the exits of three incumbent school board members at the polls and a recall campaign against two others, declining enrollment, steep budget cuts and a $340,000 buyout of former Superintendent Linda Whitehead.

Whitehead made about $130,000 a year. The new superintendent’s salary will be negotiated once that person is hired.

The district has scheduled interviews for the three candidates with staff and district residents for Thursday with Nyland, Friday with Maiocco and Monday with Coolican.

The board is scheduled to begin its discussions after the last interview Monday but there is no specific timeline for its decision, said Judy Parker, a school district spokeswoman.

The community forum segments of the interviews are set 5-6 p.m. on each of those days at district headquarters, 4220 80th St. NE.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.

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